Dr. Johnathan FlowersNov 16, 2022

Right, so: I get a lot of these kinds of replies. Not to dunk on Nemo, but the general tendency of telling folks to start their own instance with all of the features we want ignores crucial things that marginalized communities often lack: time and resources.

https://corteximplant.com/@nemo/109351863643584265

☄️Nemo (@[email protected])

@[email protected] i'd add that mastodon is not the fediverse, and that black community don't HAVE TO join mastodon. They could fork it and make it their own, or use a soft that maybe already contains the ability (i have no idea if that exists but hey ...) And by that mean forge the tool they need to build these communities out of harm way, with the affordances you deem are necessary. They could do it. And if it federates, it doesn't even have to be closed to the rest. How crazy is that.

CORTEX IMPLANT — a cyberpunk'ish fediverse instance!
Show threadDr. Johnathan FlowersNov 16, 2022

This is not to appeal to a "poverty model" or an "incapacity model" where marginalized communities are concerned, but to point out the very real resource dependencies necessary for a marginalized group to run an instance.

Beyond technical resources and monetary resources, two things which have been covered in the previous litigations of this suggestion by marginalized mastodonians, there are also personnel resources as well, by which I mean moderators.

Show threadDr. Johnathan FlowersNov 16, 2022

Any marginalized community or instance will require a greater number of personnel to maintain itself than an instance not focused on their needs. This is for the simple fact that marginalized communities, be it digital or physical, exist in a world that is actively hostile to their flourishing.

I am not being hyperbolic in this statement: I am being truthful and factual.

Show threadGuthrie McAfee Armstrong
@shengokai Yes, not to mention the increased vulnerability to mass harassment or even defederation that such instances would have to face. I have the freedom to choose to exist on whichever of the many Mastodon instances that exist, and that freedom should be available to everyone, without having to worry about whether a simple mode of communication like QTs would be properly displayed on the rest of the network.
Nov 16, 2022 at 6:07amWeb
Show threadGuthrie McAfee ArmstrongNov 16, 2022
@shengokai … it’s really astounding how many of your repliers have basically been repeating “whatever, go make your own instance/software for Black people,” as if this isn’t a feature that we can easily implement on Mastodon for everyone to share.